Just caught this tiny guy crawling on the wall, so I caught him in a plastic bag for ID:

You can see about as much detail with this cropped iPhone pic as I can with the naked eye: a round, shiny, red abdomen, dark or black head/thorax, and yellow legs. He's very small, maybe an 1/8", tops. Any ideas?

EDIT: Location is Washington, DC, but I just hiked up by the MD/VA/WV convergence, so he could have hitched a ride home from there.

(Seriously, I find this specie here interesting. Don't know what it is, though, sorry. If only Google accepts pictures in its search box.)

If people stick with you just because you have a Rolex on your wrist, you can bet losing them is as OK as losing an Invicta. And if they stick with you even if you only have an Invicta, losing them is as OK as losing a Rolex.

If people stick with you just because you have a Rolex on your wrist, you can bet losing them is as OK as losing an Invicta. And if they stick with you even if you only have an Invicta, losing them is as OK as losing a Rolex.

"No I don't want the Ask toolbar! No I don't want Bing as my default search! No I don't want to make Chrome my default browser!""Good grief, man! WHAT are you trying to install on that poor computer?""Antivirus."

It looks like 6 legs with two leg-like things that it uses as feelers. Not sure if those qualify as legs or antennae. I'd love to get a better picture, but this thing is very small and I lack a macro lens.

Forge wrote:You're going to do a spectrographic analysis? Keep in mind that IDing it was the original intention.

I'm perfectly friendly towards bugs/arachnids that can do me no harm or damage (tent caterpillars excepted). If they can hurt me, I claim a right of preemption through superior fire(heh)power.

Besides, my best source for bug data, a couple I've known for 25 years who are both PhDs in entomology (and of course work in the pesticide business), aren't usually available for the instant cellphone camera consultation.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

1) spiders have 2 bodyparts a head and an abdomin. I don't see a thorax.

2) a spider's legs will erupt from the smaller bodypart (the head)

3) you found it on a wall, its not an ant and doesn't have wings. thats not a smoking gun, but I definitely smell sulfur.

4) it is brightly colored, which is uncommon among non-predatory insects

5) I don't think my crab-spider is a bad guess really... at least based on the photo. crab spiders don't use webs, they hunt basically like crabs do, which also means walking funny and waving their front feet around like antenne.

6) chigger is also a perfectly acceptable (if a little boring) answer. i feel like its too big for that though.

If people stick with you just because you have a Rolex on your wrist, you can bet losing them is as OK as losing an Invicta. And if they stick with you even if you only have an Invicta, losing them is as OK as losing a Rolex.

I can't make out enough detail with the photo to even start, sorry I oculdn't get very far--if lucky down to a general class (i.e. spider, tick, whatever) but with this photo I'm not even really able to do that

Ugly people have sex all the time. We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion humans if you had to be beautiful to get laid.

If people stick with you just because you have a Rolex on your wrist, you can bet losing them is as OK as losing an Invicta. And if they stick with you even if you only have an Invicta, losing them is as OK as losing a Rolex.

ronch wrote:A bit off topic.. I myself am quite fascinated with insects these days. Most of them are quite unsightly. Here's a Wikipedia image showing different kinds of arachnids. Gives me the heebie jeebies..

I am quite sure that arachnids consider you equally repulsive, with your squishy exterior and hidden skeleton, and only two eyes, both in the front, constantly shifting and slopping around in wet holes in your face. Between that and the noises, it's not hard to see why arachnids are clearly naturally superior, both physically and culturally.